


sugar in my tea

by noseringTyler



Category: dan and phil, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual!Dan, Asexual!Phil, DAN AND PHIL - Freeform, Fluff, JUST, LGBT, M/M, No Smut, Writer AU, YouTube, coffee shop AU, getting over an ex, its more implied, not outrightly said that they're asexual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 00:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9466661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noseringTyler/pseuds/noseringTyler
Summary: dan's a struggling writer, phil's the new barista at dan's favourite café.they meet, they talk, they make out in phil's plant-filled apartment.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this a while ago and figured it'd be a good fic to start with. i'm still working out how Ao3 works and a test fic just to see how all the tags and stuff work. i might add onto this or change into a different fandom, since i'm not really that into Dan and Phil anymore, but i really like this fic idk

The young man, dressed all in black, crept along the path, completely oblivious to the boy following him close behind. The man’s breaths were even and calm, despite what he was about to do. When he got to the doors of the bank --  
Dan slammed his laptop closed with annoyed huff. Despite the young writer’s way with words, his writer’s block was a pain in the ass that would torment him for weeks. I don't need this. Dan thought. Not now. Whenever the aspiring author was upset, he would write a new story. But after his boyfriend Nick breaking up with him, Dan couldn't concentrate on his writing. It seemed all he wanted to do was write, and all his brain wanted to do was remind him of his breakup.  
It was late afternoon, and freezing cold in Dan's little London apartment. After realising he'd ran out of teabags and was in desperate need of a cup, he decided to go to the local café. After all, it was his favourite place to write.  
He walked through the hallway of his white-walled apartment, past the living room, lacking in furniture now that Nick had moved out. Dan had forgotten that Nick was the one who owned the plush couches and chairs, until Nick told him he was taking them back as he left. Dan went to the closet, looking for his black hat that he always wore. When he couldn't find it, he settled on a fuzzy light brown one that looked like a bear. He sighed looking at it; his friend PJ bought it for him as a joke. Normally Dan wouldn't be caught dead wearing something so cheerful, as most of his clothes were black, black, and black. But Dan Howell had straightened his curly brown hair just last night and didn't want it ruined by the London rain.

\--

Dan hustled into the café, desperate to escape the freezing air outside. He was very aware of the people staring at him as he walked into the shop; it's not every day you see someone dressed head-to-toe in black, spared for a fuzzy bear hat on his head.  
Dan took a deep breath through his nose as he took in the scent of the café. The warmth of the mocha mixed with the bite of a fresh pot of coffee warmed him inside and out. Dan didn't even like coffee -- too bitter on his tastebuds even with ten packs of Splenda. But if it tasted as good as it smelled, he'd never stop drinking it.  
As he walked up to the counter, he noticed the tall, ebony-haired barista taking orders. Holy shit. Dan thought. He's hot. His eyes were the most brilliant shade of blue, vibrant and practically glowing, contrasting with his jet black hair. He was tall, but not as tall as Dan, and his handsome face was peppered with light stubble.  
“Just a green tea, thanks.” Dan said, trying not to make eye contact with the handsome barista.  
“What should I write on your cup? Bear?” The barista said with a chuckle, gesturing to the hat still resting on Dan's silky brown hair. He was suddenly aware of his cheeks turning rose.  
“Maybe I’ll call you Lion, then.” Dan said, pointing to the lion pin fastened to the barista’s emerald apron, next to a tag that said employee of Capybara Café.  
“My name’s Phil, by the way.” Phil. Dan thought. A perfect name for a perfect boy.  
“Dan.”  
There was a split second of silence where Phil just stared into Dan’s eyes, as if he’d forgotten the world around him and what he was doing.  
“Yeah.” Phil sighed. “Yeah! Sorry. Erm….Okay. What size? Cup! I mean.” Phil stammered out, suddenly aware he'd drifted off for a moment, his cheeks painted crimson.  
“Erm….a v-venti.” Dan stumbled over his tongue. He was blushing, trying not look at Phil. He's probably too old for you anyway, Dan thought. 

\--  
Phil is an extremely energetic, flirty, cinnamon bun of a human being. His friend Chris literally calls him “the Sun” as a joke. He loves having weird conversations and telling bad jokes. He laughs at pretty much everything and knows about 800 facts about animals.  
So there's literally no reason that Phil Lester would be so instantly attracted to the dark, moody, and quiet boy who walked into his shop. Except, of course, that he was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Phil watched as Dan sat down at a table near the counter and opened up his laptop and began typing.  
Go talk to him! Phil thought. After all, his shift ended in a few minutes. 

-

“So what are you writing? College paper?” Dan looked up, startled at the sound of the cheery northern accent. It was Phil, smiling at him.  
“No, actually, I'm writing a book– or trying to, at least.” Dan chuckled.  
“Writer’s block, huh? Ya know, if you're stuck in one place, just move on to a scene you do wanna write and come back to the spot later. That's always worked for me.”  
“Yeah, maybe I’ll do that. But I don't even know what I'm writing about!” Dan confessed. He didn't really know why he was being so open with Phil, especially considering he was terribly antisocial and his heart was racing at a thousand miles an hour from being so close to the gorgeous boy talking to him.  
“I mean, I sort of have a plot, but I just can't put the words on paper.” Dan explained.  
“Well, what is it?” Phil moved closer, pulling his chair around next to him and leaning in to see Dan's computer.  
Dan thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully.  
“It's a love story. There's this one guy, and he's really dark and a little scary, and someone’s blackmailing him into robbing all these banks and stuff. And there's this other guy, and he's really sunny and outgoing, but also super rich, and he finds out about the first guy being blackmailed, and instead of helping to stop the blackmail, he just gets the first guy cool spy gear and they rob banks together and start to fall in love with each other. Kinda like Bonnie & Clyde, I guess. It's sound kinda stupid saying it out loud, but trust me–”  
“The sunny guy sounds like a sugar daddy.” Phil observed.  
“Oh, um–”  
“Sorry!” Phil laughed as he said it. “I don't why I said that!” He burst out into giggles, leaning forward and covering his hands with face. As he leaned over, Dan could see the muscles in his back and arms tighten against his shirt. Dan almost burst out laughing himself when he instantly thought please be gay. But Dan really hoped. Even though Dan had known Phil for a total of about 3 minutes he was falling for him. He was adorable. And he made Dan laugh for the first time since Nick.  
Phil calmed down, a laugh still tuck in his voice. “But seriously, your story sounds pretty good. Your characters sound like you and me! I'm not a sugar daddy though.” Phil added.

They talked for a long time after that, about everything from favourite animals to the existence of aliens. Dan found out that Phil was 26, thankfully not too old for him, who was 22. His favourite animals were capybaras and lions, and he did believe in aliens. They talked and talked and talked until they realised it was 8:00, and neither of them had had dinner.  
“I've got some food back at my place, if you want we could have dinner together.” Phil said as they walked to the street to grab a taxi. Dan knew that Phil was flirting with him, which made his heart race, but somehow he still felt nervous. Even though Nick had left Dan over a month ago, he didn't feel ready to move on - until now. What if things didn't turn out the way he thought? Anxiety crept up in Dan like vines on an old house. But he decided to swallow his butterflies and and follow his gut.  
“Sure. I'd like that.” 

-

“So, have you ever published a story?” Phil asked on the taxi drive to his flat. His thigh pressed up against Dan’s, which he would usually hate, but Dan didn't seem to care about personal space if it meant being with Phil.  
“No, not IRL, at least. I publish them onto a blog, which sounds pretty lame, but I'm still getting my work out there, at least.”  
“That's so cool! I wish I was a good writer, but everything I write sounds like a ten year-old’s one direction fanfic on wattpad. I like botany, though.”  
“Botany?” Dan said as they climbed out of the cab. Dan reached for his wallet, but stopped when Phil put his hand over his.  
“It's fine, bear, I'll pay.” Phil said, gesturing to the fuzzy hat still on Dan’s head. Dan looked down, smiling. Why was Phil being so sweet to him? They’d only met today. But Dan, broke as hell, would never pass up letting someone pay for him.  
“Botany is the study of plants, by the way.” Phil said as they walked up the steps to Phil’s flat, a little place not far from the café. “I’ve always liked biology, so I’ve got a few plants in my house that I study.” He added as they walked into the flat. Dan gasped as he took in the sight.  
“You call this a few plants?”  
He feared to know what “a lot” of plants was to Phil. Right next to the door was a huge peace lily plant, and a cluster of different succulents and cacti took up space on a table. Hangers overhead held a variety of flowering plants that Dan could not tell apart, and as he walked into Phil’s living room he saw an aloe plant, kalanchoe, tiny flowerpots on shelves, and even more succulents atop the fireplace mantelpiece. Phil's house was a rainbow, glowing and vibrant and alive with as much energy as a tropical island. It was strange to see all this green when Dan’s world was so utterly grey, especially now that winter had set in to stay for a while. Dan supposed that perhaps that was why Phil had all these plants - capturing the warmth of the world like a message in a bottle and releasing into the winter air.  
Phil chuckled at Dan’s remark about the plants. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Bit more than a few plants. But I like them. They're like pets, but with a bit less responsibility.”  
“Yeah….” Dan said, his mind elsewhere. He kept on getting lost in Phil's eyes, because they weren't just blue, really. They were the colour of the ocean, bright cerulean with flecks of emerald and gold swirling around like a kaleidoscope of nature just as brilliant as this greenhouse apartment….  
“So what do you want for dinner?” Phil asked. Dan snapped out of his daydream.  
“I don't know, what do you have?”  
Phil shrugged. “Not much actually. I kinda lied about having food, I just wanted an excuse to get you to come over here.”  
Dan's heart beat faster and faster with every second.  
“You wanted me to come back to your place?” He said with a giggle, sitting on Phil’s blue couch.  
“Yeah. I….I don't know what it is, and I know we just met today, but I feel like we’re, connected, I guess.” Phil replied, sitting down next to Dan. Despite the furniture being average size, Phil sat next to Dan like they were sharing a single chair. “I know we just met, but I was wondering if you wanted to stay the night? We don’t really have to do much, I promise. I just really wanna get to know you more, and we could watch a movie or something-”  
“Sure!” Dan said, perhaps a bit too eager. He knew at this point that Phil liked him, and was now just too caught up in Phil's eyes to care.

-

They decided to watch Back to the Future while eating some Chinese food Phil ordered, and drinking one too many beers. It was only as the credits rolled and Phil stood up to turn the lights back on did Dan realise Phil had had his arm around him. They’d literally only met today, and they were already cuddling and watching movies together.  
“Today was really great, you know.” Phil said as he sat back down - still intimately close to Dan. “I wish I could see you all the time - and we could just go back to my place every day and do this.”  
“I could see you all the time.” Dan said, leaning onto Phil a bit more as he moves closer. “I would love to see you all the time.” Phil smelled sweet, like the flowers that surrounded them. Dan smiled, wanting to stay in this moment forever, longing to capture it like a Polaroid photo to hang on his wall forever.  
“Can I kiss you, Dan?” Phil suddenly said. Dan shifted a little to see Phil better. His face was turning vermillion. “Um-I mean-you don't-I--” Dan kissed Phil before he could stutter out another syllable. It wasn't short by any means, but Dan couldn't think about how long it lasted as his lips touched Phil’s. The moment seemed to last forever in his mind but when they pulled away it seemed only a second. Phil pressed his forehead to Dan’s, smiling.  
“What is it?” Dan asked blissfully.  
“I wasn't sure if you were into me or not!” Phil started laughing, breaking the tender moment. Dan was laughing along too, so intoxicated with joy at the sound of Phil's laugh. I think I'm falling in love with you. Dan thought. Phil wrapped his arms around Dan's waist as they kissed again, this time longer, and before Dan could think Phil was practically on top of him, kissing him again and again. Dan was barely breathing as his tongue pushed against Phil's, combing his hands through Phil's hair as he planted warm kisses all over Dan's neck. Dan's thighs connected with Phil’s, and as he lay there, arms wrapped around Phil's neck and kissing him all over, Dan didn't once stop to think that he had barely known Phil for a day. All he could think about was how amazing he felt as Phil ran his lips along Dan's neck, how euphoric he felt as he kissed Phil again and again, never wanting to leave this moment. “Phil….” Dan whispered softly into Phil's neck as he ran his hands through his ebony hair. They kissed again and again for what seemed like a glorious millennium, all tongues on teeth and hands in hair and on hips, and arms wrapped around necks and bodies pressing against each other, wanting to feel every sense and movement of the other. When they finally pulled away from each other to speak in full and flustered sentences, slurred in a combination of tiredness and flirty drunkenness, it was pitch-dark, the only light coming from the street lamps outside Phil's window. 

-

There comes a time in the night when all anyone can see when they look out their window is the lights from every building, but not the buildings themselves. This time of night had come. The world beyond the street lamps glowed and sparkled with the million-billion lights coming from every structure. London looked like an alien landscape. 

But Dan wasn't looking at the lights, he was looking at Phil, staring into his eyes and realising they weren't just blue, they were cerulean, with emerald streaks and dandelion petal flecks. Phil's eyes were like a piece of art, a kaleidoscope of ethereal vibrancy that challenged the most dazzling impressionist painting. 

-

When Dan woke up, he and Phil lying close to each other on the couch, arms and legs tangled around each other, Dan resting his head in the crook of Phil's neck, he panicked for a split second. Dan had woken up, everyday, in the same place –alone– for months. Suddenly waking up on the couch of a gorgeous boy whom he was cuddling confused Dan's tired and slightly hungover brain. But after his thoughts recollected he relaxed, nuzzling Phil with his nose and kissing him on the neck. Phil woke up from the tickle of Dan's lips, and leaned in and gave Dan a kiss on the forehead, leaning in more to kiss him on the lips. They pressed their foreheads together.  
“I think I wanna ditch my idea for the robber story.” Dan said, Phil smiling at the sound of Dan's hoarse morning voice. It was hot.  
“What d’you wanna write about instead?” Phil asked, leaning his head on Dan's as he pulled him closer.  
“I don’t know. Something better. Something with you.” Dan replied, kissing Phil again. And even though their lips tasted like morning breath and their hair was a mess and they had slept in last night's clothes, they both felt like the luckiest people in the world.


End file.
